The use of proper names in meteorology: Traditional, new and future areas of research

Abstract

The article sums up the current use of proper names in meteorology, which has received relatively
little attention thus far despite tracing its history back to the end of the 19th century. A strictly regulated
and systematic naming of tropical storms has a long tradition since the middle of the 20th century.
The naming of extratropical winter storms, primarily American and European ones is much
more recent. The paper contains an attempt to analyse the names of European storms. The naming
of these meteorological phenomena is characterized by (a) the use of first names, originally female,
now alternately female and male, and (b) the use of pre-established, usually alphabetical lists of the
names that are gradually assigned to storms. In conclusion, several considerations are given about
the possible future development of the use of proper names in meteorology and the naming of the
phenomena connected with weather.